Author Topic: Discussing The Forum Rules  (Read 69240 times)

Offline Glom

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Discussing The Forum Rules
« on: February 23, 2012, 03:55:05 AM »
Can I suggest, in light of the last discussion in the old place, that it be made a rule that kilograms measure mass and Newtons measure force?

Offline Echnaton

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2012, 01:19:15 PM »
Quote
3) Repeated or severe violations of the Proboards Terms of Service

Time to change this rule.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. —Samuel Beckett

Offline LunarOrbit

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2012, 01:25:53 PM »
Doh. I thought I got all of the references to Proboards.
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth.
I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth.
I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.
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Offline sts60

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2012, 09:39:46 AM »
OT, perhaps, but to think we thought LongFuzzy a sock of P1k/fd/DT/BF/BS/etc....  An injustice of cosmic proportions (though long since corrected).

Offline gillianren

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2012, 01:40:50 PM »
There is very little which can happen on a message board which deserves to be called "an injustice of cosmic proportions."  Wrong and unfair?  Yes.  Let's save the hyperbole for more serious problems.
"This sounds like a job for Bipolar Bear . . . but I just can't seem to get out of bed!"

"Conspiracy theories are an irresistible labour-saving device in the face of complexity."  --Henry Louis Gates

Offline sts60

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2012, 02:28:05 PM »
The hyperbole was deliberate, but not serious.  Let's just go with an injustice of, say Rhode Island-sized proportions.

Offline Kiwi

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2012, 05:31:10 AM »
LunarOrbit:

I wonder if there should be a rule similar to the one at BAUT, about answering pertinent or direct questions in a timely matter. 

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13B. Conspiracy Theories
...People will vigorously challenge your arguments; that's what skeptics do. If you cannot handle a frank and critical examination of your claims, then maybe you need to rethink discussing them here. All such discussions must be kept polite and respectful, by all parties.

You must defend your arguments and directly answer pertinent questions in a timely manner. Honestly answering "I don't know" is acceptable. Evasiveness will not be tolerated.

The late, unlamented Dr Socks was a great one for not answering questions and this can cause much frustration and wasted time for debunkers.
Don't criticize what you can't understand. — Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin'” (1963)
Some people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices and superstitions. — Edward R. Murrow (1908–65)

Offline Chew

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2012, 12:54:43 PM »
LunarOrbit:

I wonder if there should be a rule similar to the one at BAUT, about answering pertinent or direct questions in a timely matter. 

+1. But not as Nazified as the BAUT.

Offline Glom

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2012, 01:25:09 PM »
LunarOrbit:

I wonder if there should be a rule similar to the one at BAUT, about answering pertinent or direct questions in a timely matter. 

Quote
13B. Conspiracy Theories
...People will vigorously challenge your arguments; that's what skeptics do. If you cannot handle a frank and critical examination of your claims, then maybe you need to rethink discussing them here. All such discussions must be kept polite and respectful, by all parties.

You must defend your arguments and directly answer pertinent questions in a timely manner. Honestly answering "I don't know" is acceptable. Evasiveness will not be tolerated.

The late, unlamented Dr Socks was a great one for not answering questions and this can cause much frustration and wasted time for debunkers.


What on the Moon possessed you to bring this up now?  I really can't fathom.

But I agree with Chew's position.  It sounds like a good rule to have, but not if we go to the point of then banning posters and closing threads because of a few transgressions.

Offline gillianren

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2012, 01:30:47 PM »
Define "a few."  I'm all for banning people over it if it becomes problematic.
"This sounds like a job for Bipolar Bear . . . but I just can't seem to get out of bed!"

"Conspiracy theories are an irresistible labour-saving device in the face of complexity."  --Henry Louis Gates

Offline Echnaton

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2012, 01:40:19 PM »
LunarOrbit:

I wonder if there should be a rule similar to the one at BAUT, about answering pertinent or direct questions in a timely matter. 

Quote
13B. Conspiracy Theories
...People will vigorously challenge your arguments; that's what skeptics do. If you cannot handle a frank and critical examination of your claims, then maybe you need to rethink discussing them here. All such discussions must be kept polite and respectful, by all parties.

You must defend your arguments and directly answer pertinent questions in a timely manner. Honestly answering "I don't know" is acceptable. Evasiveness will not be tolerated.

The late, unlamented Dr Socks was a great one for not answering questions and this can cause much frustration and wasted time for debunkers.


Isn't that mostly covered under the rules

Quote
8. Trolling
b) repeatedly making the same claim or accusation while ignoring responses that dispute it.
c) repeatedly making claims while ignoring requests to either support or withdraw them
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. —Samuel Beckett

Offline Neil Baker

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2015, 11:29:52 PM »
I was seeking clarification on the no Holocaust discussion ruling.
It was discussed briefly on the Apollo thread but I wasn't sure if any new rule had been made.
I understand there's a place for "other discussions" but I didn't want to waste my time if there's a rule against it and it only get taken down.

By the way, why don't you want the Holocaust hoax discussed?

Offline smartcooky

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2015, 12:05:15 AM »
By the way, why don't you want the Holocaust hoax discussed?

While not wishing to pre-empt LunarOrbit's reasons, I can give you a number of reasons why I think it should not be discussed here.

1. This is an Apollo Hoax discussion board. While we also discuss other issues with regards to Space Science, this is not an appropriate forum for Holocaust discussion. There are specialist boards on the interwebz for what you seek, I suggest you go find them.

2. Apollo Hoax belief is a largely dying branch of conspiracy theory. It attracts a small and declining number of certifiable kooks, e.g. The Blunder from Down Under, Dorkman, the Whimper, Weisbekcer etc. They are, in the words of Ford Prefect, "mostly harmless"; a bunch of fools who are simply incapable of understanding even the most basic science and engineering principles involved.

3. Holocaust Denial is a whole other far more dangerous proposition for discussion. It attracts Holocaust Deniers, a bunch of very nasty people, from all corners of the internet. Some even have convictions for actual violence and threatening to kill people (you being one of them). It also attracts anti-semites, white supremacists, extreme racists and whole a raft of other scrum-of-the-earth ratbags that we, as members don't want to see anywhere near this forum.

4. Holocaust Denial threads inevitably lead to flame wars (have a look at the Holocaust threads at JREF) and just as inevitably, Lunar Orbit's workload would rise and he would have his hands full dealing with it. Better to just nip it in the bud and kill it from the get-go.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2015, 12:07:30 AM by smartcooky »
If you're not a scientist but you think you've destroyed the foundation of a vast scientific edifice with 10 minutes of Googling, you might want to consider the possibility that you're wrong.

Offline bknight

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2015, 12:11:37 AM »
...
4. Holocaust Denial threads inevitably lead to flame wars (have a look at the Holocaust threads at JREF) and just as inevitably, Lunar Orbit's workload would rise and he would have his hands full dealing with it. Better to just nip it in the bud and kill it from the get-go.
The subject matter does indeed bring about the worst in humanity and I agree it should not be allowed.  Neil, LO has indicated he doesn't want it and if you want to publish viral trash start and maintain your own forum.
Truth needs no defense.  Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.
Eugene Cernan

Offline Echnaton

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Re: Discussing The Forum Rules
« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2015, 05:34:16 PM »
Holocaust denial can be a cover for anti-semitism and a great deal of it hinges on claims that are inseparable from those used to support anti-semitism.  Just take it elsewhere.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. —Samuel Beckett